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文章來源: 以後入籍要考英文了
The rural town of Shepparton in Victoria is a good example of a cultural melting pot. But authorities are concerned if immigrants don』t speak English, they are putting themselves at a disadvantage.
Dr Sharman Stone was the Federal Member for the seat of Murray, based in Shepparton, and home to Iraqis, Kuwaiti, Albanians, Greeks, Italians, Russians, and Pacific Islanders. Dr Stone was concerned about the number of people becoming Australian citizens in her area who could not speak English.
"I've been to dozens of citizenship ceremonies, where it's quite obvious that the person taking the oath, or trying to take the oath doesn't understand a word of what they're saying," Dr Stone said.
The law was clear. To become an Australian citizen you must have had residency in the country for at least two years, be of good character, and you must be able to speak basic English.
But how were so many migrants getting around the system?
Despite speaking English being a legal requirement, no formal language testing was done to new immigrants. Immigration officials simply took a person's word for it, that they knew enough English to get by in Australian society.
In a lot of country towns the system was even slacker. To become an Australian citizen in a place like Shepparton, you didn't need to meet with an immigration official. All you had to do was meet with your local postmaster whose job it was to decide whether you spoke English.
In the UK, migrants had to pass a written English language test before they became a British citizen. If they didn't pass, they had to undertake citizenship classes before sitting the test again. In the US, you had to pass a written English test, and also a test about America's history and political system, before you could become naturalised.
Nino Randazzo, editor of Melbourne's Italian language newspaper, Il Globo, said you could function in Australia if you didn't speak English.
"Absolutely, that has been proven time and time again," Nino said. "Some of the people who have made important contributions to the economy of the country can hardly speak the language," he added.
He said our citizenship rules did not need toughening, adding that a lot of migrants chose Australia because of such relaxed standards.
"It's definitely a plus for this country, we are saying that Australia is open to anyone," Nino said.
Recent research by Monash University in Melbourne has shown Australians were more accepting of the need for immigration than ever before. But out on the streets, most argued English should be a basic requirement.
For eight years, Katherine Hassan lived with her Malaysian husband Samsuri in Malaysia. She said people who wanted to migrate there were expected to speak fluent Malay.
"If I wanted permanent residency, I would've had to sit for both a spoken and written Malay test to pass the requirement," she said.
Katherine and Samsuri said they couldn't believe how easy it was by comparison to become Australian, even when you couldn't speak basic English.
"All your forms here are given in several languages and if the language you require isn't on them, the government pays for an interpreter," the couple said.
Dr Stone said English language requirements should be waved for refugees, and for those who were part of a family reunion program. For the rest of our new citizens she believed if you chose this country, you also chose to speak our language.
"I think that more Australians will be demanding in the future that when you take your citizenship it will be taken very seriously," Dr Stone said.
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